Need help with brand development strategy for your small business?
Your brand is more than a logo, a name or a catchy slogan — it’s the entire experience your prospects and clients have with your company. Branding is important in the B2B world because it helps you stand out from the competition and become top of mind with decision makers. The right brand strategy brings your competitive positioning to life. If you need help or a little guidance, contact Len Feehan.
Your brand is your most valuable asset and building it is your most important task. It can boost your firm’s reputation and expand your visibility in the marketplace.
Brand development phases include:
- Aligning your brand strategy with your business objectives
- Developing brand tools such as your logo, tagline, LinkedIn Profile, website
- Strengthening your new or updated brand
Here’s some helpful brand building considerations to consider.
Identify your target clients
Who are your target clients? It’s not everybody. If you think that you are making a big mistake. High growth firms are focused on having clearly defined target clients. The narrower the focus, the better. If the audience is too diverse your marketing efforts will be diluted.
Research your target client group
Research helps you better understand your target client’s perspective on their needs. It helps you prioritize how you can position your business and present your message in a language that resonates with them. You can find out if they know your strengths. It’s not something you do only once, because those that do research more frequently grow faster.
Develop your brand positioning
How is your company different from others? Why should potential clients within your target audience choose to use your service or buy your product? Think about those questions when writing a positioning statement. It is usually three to five sentences in length and captures the essence of your brand positioning.
Develop your content marketing strategy
Content marketing uses valuable educational content to attract, nurture and qualify prospects. Your brand strength is driven by both reputation and visibility. Good content marketing material increases your visibility and reputation at the same time. If it is done right it is a perfect way to make your brand relevant to your target audiences.
Develop your website.
Online content is central to any modern brand development strategy. After all. your website is the most important brand development tool. It is where your audiences and future employees learn what you do, how you do it and who are the clients that use your services or products. It will take more than a nice looking website to find qualified leads, close sales and build relationships. Using search engine optimization (SEO) strategy when developing content helps your prospects and referral sources more easily find you and learn about your firm.
Developing your marketing tools
While much of your communication may be digital, you should create a brochure and/or sales sheet that describes your core service/product offerings and key markets served. Saved as a PDF, it can be posted on your website and prepped for printing when needed.
Your marketing tools might also include videos. Popular video topics include company overviews, case studies and meet the team videos. If prepared appropriately, these tools serve not only a business development function but also are important for brand development.